MEADVILLE, Pa. – A late surge led by the duo of Evan Schweitzer and Josh Valentic pushed the Gators past North Coast Athletic Conference rival Hiram College, 69-59, in the David V. Wise Center.

In the game's final 10 minutes, the Gators outscored the Terriers 29-11, with Schweitzer scoring 13 points and Valentic 11, as Allegheny turned a three-point deficit into the 10-point victory.  The win sealed the season sweep for the Gators over Hiram, as Allegheny improves to 9-9 overall and 6-5 in the NCAC.

Valentic scored a game-high 22 points, including 17 in the second half, while Schweitzer scored 15 of his career-high 20 points over the final 20 minutes.   Schweitzer also added a team-best five assists and seven rebounds, just behind teammate Evan Zabriski, who led Allegheny with eight boards.

The game began with a fast offensive pace, with the two teams using little time on the shot clock over the opening four minutes, with Hiram leading 10-8.  The Terriers would eventually increase their lead to 13-8 with 14:30 left in the half, before the pace slowed and the Gators slowly looked to gain the momentum.

With 12:16 left, a layup from the Gators' Donte Wallette tied the game at 13, and after forcing a pair of scoreless Hiram trips, the freshman gave Allegheny the lead with a long three-pointer at the 10-minute mark.  Nearly three more minutes would pass before the game's next field goal, a three-pointer from Valentic that pushed Allegheny in front 19-13 to close a long 11-0 run with just over seven minutes remaining.

The lead stayed at six, 23-17, after a Schweitzer jumper at the three-minute mark, before the Terriers took advantage of a pair of Gator turnovers to score on four straight trips and go in front 25-23 with 1:23 left in the half.  Allegheny looked as if they were going to go into the locker room with the lead, after a conventional three-point play from Gabe Seidman put the hosts on top 28-27 with three seconds left, but the Terriers' Trey Sanders connected on a three-pointer from just inside half court at the buzzer to give the visitors a 30-28 halftime lead.

The first half stats were relatively even, with both teams shooting 42 percent from the floor (Allegheny 12-for-28; Hiram 11-for-26).  The difference came from behind the arc, as the Terriers made five treys, compared to three from Allegheny.  Both teams were sloppy with the basketball, committing 12 turnovers apiece.

After a layup by Schweitzer tied the game at 30 on the Gators' opening possession of the second half, the Terriers would score four straight points, and their lead would hover between two and four over the next several minutes.   Seven points from Valentic in a 90-second span trimmed the Hiram lead to 40-39 with just over 15 minutes left, but the visitors then scored seven of the game's next nine points to enjoy their largest lead of the half, 47-41, with 10:30 left in regulation.

The Gators then came to life, while Hiram went cold.  A layup from Valentic cut the gap to 47-43 with 10:10 left, before Schweitzer scored six straight points to give the Gators back the lead, 49-47, with 6:46 to play.  Over the nearly four-minute span, the Terriers went 0-for-7 from the field, while committing three turnovers.

Hiram twice cut the deficit to one in the ensuing minutes, before an offensive putback by Leslie Jamerson followed by a Valentic trey put the Gators in front 56-52 with 4:46 remaining.  The teams would trade baskets over the next minute, before Valentic scored on two straight trips, capped off with a foul line jumper in traffic that upped the Allegheny advantage to 62-54 with 2:22 to go.

The Terriers put together a last gasp effort, pulling to within 62-57 at the one-minute mark, but Schweitzer put the game away by scoring six more points in the game's final 50 seconds to ice the 10-point win.

Over the second half, Allegheny shot an impressive 53 percent (16-for-30) from the floor, while holding the Terriers to just 12 field goals on 30 attempts, including an 0-for-8 mark from downtown.  Hiram also struggled from the charity stripe over the final stanza, connecting on just five of 14 attempts. 

A total of seven different Gators scored at least four points, with Wallette scoring a career-high seven, and Jamerson posting career-highs in both points (4) and rebounds (4).   The Gator bench out-scored Hiram's 17-8 for the game, including a 7-0 margin in the second half.

Hiram was led on the night by Kelvin Jones, who put together an impressive game underneath with 19 points, on 9-of-12 shooting, and a game-high nine rebounds.  Jones was one of three Terriers to score in double figures, joning JJ Woodson (17 points) and Josh Edmonson (11).

Allegheny will return to action on Sat. Jan. 31, traveling to Gambier, Ohio to take on NCAC foe Kenyon at 3 p.m.